Read on if you want to make a difference, and subsequently have that change you for the better and potentially, richer.

“Do you transform people's lives through your photography business?” When I first heard Steve Saporito pose the question, I didn't know what he was talking about. I admit, it felt a little woo-woo. After a week-long workshop with him, the light bulbs started going on.

I realized that most photographers wait to discover their clients at the photo session or at the wedding. In fact, I confess doing just that.

I would excitedly send out a questionnaire the second someone came knocking on my website for a family portrait session or wedding. As soon as I had hit “send”, I figured my job was done and all I needed to do was to just wait for their responses.

All I got back in return were … crickets. Frankly, the replies came but often only minutes before a session or not fully completed. It left me feeling helpless and slightly frustrated because I did not know my clients at all. We were completely out of sync from the get-go. Can you imagine the quality of their photographs? They were emotionally flat, almost absent. And that was my doing, not theirs.

I foolishly figured my branding, website and messaging had to change. Or, was it my portfolio? Or, did I have to up my social media game?

No, in all honestly, none of that mattered more than the experience I was providing my clients. And it was poor. Something had to give and that's when I approached Steve Saporito at his New Haven, Connecticut workshop. My photography business was in a critical condition. I had to make changes and fast.

Thanks to Steve, I experienced a mind-shift. What would happen, I wondered, if I took the time to get to know my clients in a meaningful way that helped them be seen, heard and loved by the people in their lives right now? Ahead of their session, our clients would have an opportunity to reconnect with their family in a way that makes the entire process of being photographed together a joyous event. That's where and when the transformation takes place. And the transformation isn't limited to just your clients. Indeed, you as their photographer experience it as well.

Ultimately, clients reward you for giving them this beautiful experience before their session and for the artwork that become a permanent anchor to their heightened emotions. The

Really, there is a lot more to this than a blog post can cover. If you get a chance to listen to Steve speak (podcasts or at conferences), don't miss out. A couple of weeks after attending his workshops again (yes, again) in New Jersey, I invited Steve to a Skype call that I figured wouldn't last more than 10 or 15 minutes. But here we are chatting about all of this for about 45 minutes. It's a good long listen, but I assure totally worth your time:

I want to thank my friends Jasen Arias and Mike Allebach for persuading me to attend Steve's workshop in New Jersey. Like a lot of you, I hummed and hawed about going. I conjured up all kinds of excuses. In the end though, my goal to know how to be fully present for my portrait clients, trumped all attempts to bow out.

Without hyperbole, let me tell you that Steve's workshops ARE the best business workshops I've ever attended. And, I will go back for more in the future.

If you are spinning your wheels and have no clue how to resuscitate your photography business, ping me and I'll let you know more about my experience at the Empower & Effortless Premières workshops. The next one in North America is going to be in Toronto, Canada, from October 5th through October 11th.

To quote Jasen and Mike, “Just put it on the credit card and go dude. You'll pay it off in no time.” So true!

A Different Genre

“The hallmark of the concept is both perspective and attitude, based on a mandate to be truly reactive rather than proactive, and a dedication to record events as historian rather than director. Content with reality, the wedding photojournalist quietly documents while anticipating action, sensitively observing details and nuance, capturing moments without subjects actively aware of the process.” – Denis Reggie, the Godfather of Wedding Photojournalism

And it took my breath away.

If you ever pursued anything without knowing that it was valid and that there would be a demand for it, you'll also know that sense of calm that washes over you when you know all will be well.

No one had so succinctly defined the kind of photography I wanted to deliver for my wedding clients. That someone had enunciated it so lucidly assured me that I was on the right path.

So began my pursuit at studying Denis Reggie‘s work. To be honest, I wasn't attracted to it because he had photographed the Kennedy's or that he comfortably commanded five figures for his services. No, it was this “hands-off” approach that captured my imagination. I'll bet you see it in my work at Amata Pictures. Take a look!

The Interview

It was on Facebook that Denis Reggie and I finally connected. I must have asked him a question or responded to something he had posted about wedding photojournalism. What follows is a short interview with Denis Reggie about wedding photojournalism:

We talk about:

– Photographer as a witness, not a director on the wedding day
– How to blend in as a wedding guest to photograph weddings as a photojournalist
– Photographing people without them being aware of the camera
– Why documentary weddings are specific to a particular age group of clients
– How Denis doesn't really use Photoshop to create fantasy photographs
– The Achilles Heels for any new photographer
– Creating consistent lighting, understanding flash to create quality light
– Producing matted albums vs. flush albums for high end clients
– Knowing your client's needs and experiences and delivering on it
– How wedding photojournalists are historians with a camera
– Getting started in the business of wedding photojournalism
– How Denis literally starved for 7 years before making it in his 8th year of business
– Working with wedding planners, banquet managers
– Time, education, practice, staying current all cater to a photographer's progress
– Whether we are sitting in a wedding photography bubble or not; will prices come down?
– There is a market for excellence in wedding photography
– Creating original works of art for discerning clients

The Wedding Photojournalism Gallery

Where Do You Stand?

Are you a photojournalist looking to enter the wedding market? Would you abandon all that you know about narrating visual stories and pose people all day long or would you prefer to work with clients who will respect your work at the end of the day? As Denis Reggie said in the interview, there is no right or wrong approach to wedding photography. If your clients expect (or even demand) a certain approach, then you are in essence only delivering on that promise you are making them at the very start of your relationship.

A few weeks back, Seshu and I started a conversation. He was curious as to my thoughts on business coaching and its value. Was it worth it? What made it worth it? You know just a general conversation. We started to chat about it and before long I ended up visualizing something about running a business that seemed to make sense that it might better explain why I think business coaching is not only important, but the only way for the average person to find success.

BUT FIRST!!! Let’s all hop into the conversation with Seshu and I so this all makes a bit more sense. It’s about to get weird.

Seshu – Ok, truth or dare time. Would you, knowing all that you know about Intuition to Succeed, still join up and become one of Steve and Kelly's students? I'm considering signing up.

Jasen Arias – I believe that it has been, is, and will continue to be the best business investment we have made.

Seshu – Thumbs Up!

Jasen Arias – It has given us the opportunity to develop multiple facets of our business.

Seshu – Such as?

Jasen Arias – So all the other business coaching and growth we have taken on has never had a solid foundation to grow from. Steve has given us the foundation for a business that has allowed us to make strides with other investments that we can see the difference.

Seshu – Ah! That makes sense.

Jasen Arias – Like investing into a new website, or branding, or equipment

Seshu – He showed you the money!

Jasen Arias – All of which we could have done before but would have been like water in a bathtub with no drain. So no, it really hasn’t been about the money.

Seshu – Oh?

Jasen Arias – Nope. The money let us afford that, but that isn’t what has made other investments worthwhile. There’s a difference.

Seshu – Do explain if you can please …

Jasen Arias – Let’s stick with the bath tub analogy. You have four parts. The faucet, the tub, the drain and the water.

Ok! So now that we are all up on the conversation, let’s break down what I’m referring to here. Oh! and let’s be honest for a second. This isn’t some analogy that I have been thinking about for years. This is just off the cuff. So if you find a few leaks in it (pun intended), allow me a few towels.

So TUB = Business? Sounds strange right? Check it out.

Regardless of what business you are in, we all have similar struggles when starting our dreams. We search for inspiration; we search for help and support. We look for tools to make something better. We want to try new things to give it our own twist … our own personality. But at the end of the day, what we really would like are a few answers to know that we are doing something right.

My mind works really well with analogies. I love problem solving with them internally, and I love using them to help me explain ideas. So as I started envisioning a “Bath Tub”, as a way to explain why business coaching isn’t just about “the money”; it all seemed to click.

Think of it this way. There are four pieces to a bathtub. You have the faucet, the tub, the drain and of course the water.

THE FAUCET

The faucet is your resources. You struggle to learn how to turn it on. Then you need to make sure that it’s pointed in the right direction and isn’t spraying all over the place. You have to adjust to make sure it’s not too cold nor too hot. The water is too fast or too slow. Right? You know what I’m saying. Ever been to that friend’s house that the faucet is just completely whack?!?!? Barely touch it and it’s boiling, move it the other way and it turns off?!?!? HA. Good luck!!!! Who invented this wizardry?!?!? But this really isn’t about creating resources. Seems like it should be, but it’s not. So let’s move on.

THE TUB

The tub is your business. Trying to keep everything in place. Holding all that you are while adding more. You get to decide if you are porcelain or a free standing cast iron tub with feet. Maybe you have jets. Maybe you are a rusty mess, maybe everything is polished. That is all entirely up to you. The tub is your brand, your service, your products. But alas, this isn’t really how to become a better tub either. So let’s move on.

THE WATER

The water is all of your resources. While it all starts with the faucet, in reality it’s that faucet that feeds your growth. It allows you to add that knowledge, clients, equipment and cold hard cash. That you keep in your tub. THIS is the area where we spend all of our time. Learning to shoot better, study more, blog posts, branding, marketing. . . . endless. It’s all here. But without fail our tub is never truly clean and we are constantly trying to scrub the soap scum while managing the faucet to keep the water on, let alone warm and clean. We are constantly trying to filter out the crap that we don’t want while using what we do. It’s an endless, thankless and frustrating job. But the management of that is exactly what we didn’t want to do and are forced to do as we reach for success. Unfortunately this isn’t a post about managing your business or keeping a clean tub … so we must move on.

THE DRAIN

That’s all that’s left right?

So what’s the drain. The drain is where you lose all your water. All that time that you are putting in. All the money that you are making. All going down the drain. Some drains bigger than others. Some have the nifty catch to keep you from losing that penny that was stuck to some random body part. Right? Some have even been neglected to the point that they are all clogged up with nastiness. Gross! But it’s all kinda making sense isn’t it?

I believe that THIS is the most important part of your business and also the most neglected.

The reality is that it doesn’t matter how deep your resources are, how much you learn or how much money you make if it’s just going right down the drain. It also doesn’t matter if it’s all clogged up and your tub just overflows on to the floor and leaves you with soggy bath mats. It’s all a waste. And if you are running your business trying to manage the wasted water and not utilizing the good clean stuff, then how can you tell what is working or what isn’t working. Add as much water as you like, but the reality is that you are working really hard to fill something that has a giant hole.

I know you know what I’m talking about. That icky feeling of frustration from constantly pushing something up hill just to find that it’s even more sucky to try hold on while it’s attempting to roll away from you downhill. That sense of desperation and anxiety? It sucks!

Lucky for all of us there are people out there that can give us a better drain for our tub. One that you can open and close and teaches you how to keep it clean. THIS is what Steve Saporito has been and is to our business.

Think of that and let the drain idea soak in. If you can control the drain then how much easier is it to run your faucet? You no longer must crank that puppy full blast to get water to stay in the tub. In fact you can turn the faucet on juuuuust enough to give you the right amount of water that need, then turn it off. When you’re done, open the drain and, let the old water out and get ready for more clean water. Need to clean your tub? Want to change your tub? It all gets a bit easier and productive when you know how to work that drain.

We could go on and on I’m sure … that's why analogies are so fun, but my end point is this:

Searching for a business coach can’t just be about finding someone that helps you create more resources. Odds are it will just be incredibly wasteful. Your first coach needs to be your “drain” coach. You MUST find someone that is going to help you develop a way of implementing and testing your resources so that you can figure out what is working and what isn’t working. And when you have done that, you have to be able to clean it out and do it again. Growth is a constant cycle of trying new things, failing, tweaking and trying again. But it’s imperative that we find ways to slow down and focus on improving what we have instead of working so hard to fill our lives with as much “water” as possible.

This is your bath tub … don’t just let anyone into it, and when you do, make sure you know which part they are going to help with. Are they improving your faucet? The water? The tub? Or, the Drain? No one single coach is going to be the whole answer, but one of them will help you get the most out of the others.

Lastly, a quick shout out to two business coaches who have made the biggest difference to my wife, Christy and I. In addition to the hundreds of other speakers that have influenced us for the better, these two business coaches in particular have made a significant impact on our businesses and daily lives. We will never be able to thank either of them largely enough for the “tubs” they have helped us create:

Dani Fine Photography is a Northampton, Massachusetts studio that caters to both wedding and portrait clients. Dani Klein-Williams, principal photographer, will be presenting at Inspire Photo Retreats in February.

I am 6'5” tall, weigh around 16 stones and have size 12 feet. When I want to use it I have a voice like a fog horn, I'm naturally fairly clumsy and I have been told that I have a certain “presence” – in a good way I think! I therefore take it as a huge compliment when my wedding clients remark that they hardly noticed me taking photographs at their wedding, that I was discreet and, as one wrote to me “I don't understand how someone so tall can be so unobtrusive!”

My natural photographic inclination is as a photojournalist so blending into the crowd is of paramount importance. I don't want to influence events unfolding in front of me and the less my clients and wedding guests notice that I am there the more natural and telling my photographs can be. I want to observe and record, my presence has to be one of neutrality.

Consider How You Look And Sound!

It's important that, like any animal trying not to draw attention to itself, that you are camouflaged. I'm not suggesting that you go to a wedding in full army gear but rather that you blend in with the surroundings! Wear what everyone else will be wearing in a slightly low key way. Here in the UK most men would wear a suit, shirt and tie to a wedding. I therefore wear a shirt and tie (no jacket as I get too hot) and suit style trousers, but I always tend to wear rather subdued colours. I have some hideously garishly coloured ties for example but they are simply going to draw attention to me so I just wear plain dark colours. Blend in and then tone it down!

Shoes are also really important. Not so much how they look but how they sound, they really need to be completely silent so that you can walk quietly around a church during the ceremony for example without drawing attention to yourself with clicking heels and endless squeaking!

On the subject of noise, it's also imperative that you switch your phone to silent for the whole day. There's no point in trying to be a ninja photojournalist with a constantly blaring phone in your pocket!

Go Anti Flash Gear

There's nothing screams “photographer” more than a huge DSLR with a massive gleaming white 70-200mm lens stuck on the front. At the very least using a smaller body and smaller, possibly prime lenses, is considerably less intrusive. The new generation of mirrorless cameras are also considerably less intimidating and quieter as well.

Even if you are still using a DSLR switch off the focus beeps, put it into silent or quiet mode and consider black taping over the logos so that it looks much more low key. Even the straps you use carry a subconscious message, large hand or belt straps are much more conspicuous than the basic neck straps that are generally provided. They may be a little less comfortable but they are far less conspicuous.

However, the most obvious thing to avoid is using flash. Nothing makes the photographer more obvious than a firing flash and using natural light wherever possible is an absolute must. There are very few situations where a modern DSLR, used with a reasonably high ISO setting and a fast prime lens, can't cope.

Super Stealth Body Language

The photographer's physical demeanour is of paramount importance and probably most important of all is that you look happy, alert and relaxed. I am aware that when I am concentrating I often frown and this sends completely the wrong message to people around me – I consciously try to keep a more pleasant expression on my face and this does have a noticeable effect on how people perceive you. Having a silent frowning photographer taking your picture is much more stressful than being photographed by a happy, confident looking one who displays open body language and this will often show in the pictures.

However, despite needing to look happy and confident in your work it can be a good idea to actually try to avoid eye contact and looking intently at people for too long. Remember, as a photojournalist, you are trying your utmost not to influence the scene before you so drawing attention to yourself by smiling and making eye contact with your subject can be detrimental to the authenticity of the final image. That's not to say you can't be friendly and often a subject will realise they have been photographed after the moment has passed as you take the camera from your eye and at this point it can be nice to smile and possibly say a thank you.

Avoiding actually looking at your subject is hard but can be an effective way of ensuring that they do not react to you. Try approaching them whilst looking intently at something beyond them or to the side of them so that it seems as though your interest lies elsewhere whilst all the time keeping a watch for the decisive moment through the corner of your eye. Using wide angle lenses can be extremely helpful in such situations as they allow you to have a subject in the frame whilst it looks as though you are not pointing the camera directly at them.

Another way to make your presence less felt is to keep circulating around the wedding party. Try to be “everywhere but nowhere” at the same time. Not only does this have less impact on people it also increases the chances of you being in the right place at the right time to photograph important developments and action. You should be constantly looking for images and positioning is vitally important – often it can be possible to be observing two or three possible scenarios from a distance without influencing any of them before decisively moving closer to one of them at the vital moment to photograph.

The “floating about” technique isn't always appropriate however and sometimes it can be just a case of seeing the potential in a scene and waiting for something to unfold and happen. Again, during this waiting game, it's important that your presence doesn't influence the scene and often waiting crouched down, standing casually, leaning on a wall or even sitting can make you much less noticeable. Other times, I will stand waiting to take the picture looking through the viewfinder of the camera and not moving – this is pretty obvious to anyone the other side of the lens but, after a certain amount of time, assuming that you haven't moved, you just become part of the surroundings and life carries on fairly much as normal around you.

Down Time

All of this incognito photography can become quite taxing after a while and it is vitally important that you have regular breaks and down time. Obviously there are times during a wedding day when you need to constantly on the go but, at a typical reception for example, it isn't necessary to be constantly photographing and having regular breaks will help keep you alert and also will mean that there are times when, from the guests point of view, you are completely absent. A break can be as brief as just heading back to my camera bag in the corner, having a quick drink and checking the timing schedule or can be a slightly more prolonged. On longer breaks I am careful to leave the main part of the wedding and to get away from the guests – this helps me to clear my brain a little and again means that I am intruding on the wedding as little as possible as well. I am always happy to chat to people if they approach me but I don't see it as part of my role as a documentary photographer to socialise with guests, at least not until I have finished work for the day, the camera is back in the bag and I am having a well deserved drink before heading home.

Whilst maintaining some of the tactics above it is also really important to balance this with your emotional involvement and empathy for the people you are working with. You are an outsider who has been given the privilege of recording a very personal, emotional and often private event and, as such, it is the photographer's duty to be as respectful and unobtrusive as possible. With the correct balance of unobtrusive behaviour and emotional empathy it becomes possible for the photographer to record the day with authenticity and integrity and produce images that will resonate for the people in them in a genuine and meaningful way. This is a hard balance to achieve but, when combined with technical mastery is the key to producing the very best photojournalistic photography.

– Has a clear goal and a specific end point.
– Presents a clear challenge.
– Requires sacrifice of some kind.
– Often driven by a calling or a sense of mission.
– Often requires a series of small steps and incremental progress toward the goal.

My friend and fellow documentary photographer Sephi Bergerson began his quest six years ago to document a wide variety of Indian weddings. When you look at his work, you'll agree that his images are heartfelt and stunning. After years of pursuing these Indian weddings in India, Sephi is now ready to publish a book. But he is clear that he wants to publish and distribute it in a non-traditional way. Today, he launched “Behind The Indian Veil: Weddings In India“, a crowd-funding campaign to raise $42,000. At this writing, he has already raised $615!

The sharing economy is disrupting industries throughout around the world! Companies like Airbnb, Relay Rides, Task Rabbit, Uber, Lyft and dozens more companies are changing the way people think and consume.

What is sharing economy?

The sharing economy is a consumer paradigm in which a person is willing to share his or her time or asset with another person. The paradigm enables people to maximally utilize the assets that they own or decide to use someone else’s assets. Airbnb helps people share apartments, Relay Rides helps people share cars, Task Rabbit helps people share their services.

Why does this matter to the wedding industry?

As a professional wedding photographer, you’re accumulating a trove of wedding images. Traditionally, the value of your wedding images has ended when you deliver them to a newlywed couple. Today, if this is all you’re doing with your wedding images, you’re leaving value on the table!

Other vendors need access to professional images of their work now more than ever. In the past other vendors could get by with a handful of nice images on a website. Today, in the age of Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, engaged couples have a heftier appetite for images. Today, vendors need to share a regular stream of fresh professional images on social media to stay relevant among engaged couples. You’re sitting on these images, and you can get something for them.

The current image share paths from photographers to other vendors are fragmented, cumbersome and, most unfortunately, do not enable the photographer to capture the full value of his or her images. I’m fixing this problem with LulaWed.com. Our new wedding directory helps photographers easily share wedding images with other vendors and capture real value from sharing.

How LulaWed helps photographers.

LulaWed allows photographers to upload albums of real wedding images and tag the venue and other vendors who participated. We find the contact info for vendors you tag in albums, email them a link to your album and encourage them to share your branded images of their work on social media.

LulaWed provides easy one click access for other vendors to share your wedding images to their Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook accounts. The images shared are branded with your logo or watermark and lead back to your listing on LulaWed. The end value to photographers is more exposure among unique social media networks and more referrals from other vendors. The end value to the other vendors is they get to share professional images of their work online.

Your marketing dream team.

Imagine if you had a marketing team of 10, 20 or even 100 people working to promote your business to engaged couples. This would be amazing and really expensive! You don’t need a marketing team promoting your business, you need other wedding vendors promoting your business.

Today's social channels allow savvy wedding businesses to build successful online followings across multiple platforms. Sharing your images on LulaWed allows other wedding vendors to market their business and yours simultaneously to unique social media networks. For example, when a couple sees your image shared on Pinterest by another vendor, the couple can click on the image back to your LulaWed listing. You keep all the credit, and you get the referral.

You never know which vendor your tagging will have a huge following on Pinterest.

By a photographer, for photographers

I worked as a professional wedding photographer for the past 12 years in California and Maine. I’ve shot over a hundred weddings and my wife’s current photography company shoots 60+ a year. I understand that brides come and go, but the industry will always be there. Take care of the individuals who can refer you and you will build a business that thrives!

Our platform is designed to require minimal effort by you to get your images shared by other vendors! We’re constantly adding new features and partnerships that make it easier for you to share images with other vendors. Recently we launched a new feature that allows you to skip the image upload process completely when you integrate your blog RSS feed. LulaWed can pull real wedding images right from your blog.

Free listing offer for Tiffinbox readers!

Tiffinbox has been a valued resource to me as a professional photographer, so I want to share the love with other readers. Right now, when you create an Enhanced listing on LulaWed, use promo TIFFINBOX to get 6 months free!

I hope LulaWed helps you get more value from your wedding images. Signup, upload weddings, tag vendors, and let me know how it goes!